Return from Darkness
by lightofthenine
Summary: Post-Battle of Chicago. The day NEST was dissolved, thousands of Autobots went into hiding to protect themselves from Cemetery Wind. But when the bloodshed becomes too much, a group of NEST operatives come out of hiding and join the war that will decide the fate of the Earth. And the key to their success all rests on the shoulders of one woman. M for swearing.


22:45 EST

The control room fell silent as General Morshower strode into the room, flanked by three NEST members. Technical specialists put down their microphones and stopped typing on keyboards. Officers monitoring Decepticon activity glanced out of the corner of their eyes at the well-built man who came to a stop at the front of the room, his hands behind his back.

Almost immediately, every man and woman in the room stood up quickly, acknowledging his presence.

"The Decepticons has successfully been defeated as of 18:00 eastern time," announced Morshower, his eyes scanning the room. "Sentinel and Megatrons bodies have successfully been recovered and their Sparks removed and destroyed and moved to a undisclosed location. Chicago has been secured."

The room burst into applause, some officers shook hands and slapped each other on the back for a job well done. Morshower cleared his throat and the noise died down as quickly as it'd started.

"But as of 22:45 eastern time, NEST has been formally dissolved according to an executive order signed by the President of the United States. We have lost too many men and women in this war. Although the Autobots have assisted us in defending our Earth, their time to leave has finally arrived."

There was a quiet buzz in the war room now, worried and frantic whispers filling the air. General Morshower raised two hands quickly, shaking his head. "It was not my decision." But even as he spoke, the lines of his face tightened. "Were it up to me, we wouldn't all be going home."

"_Disbanded_?" repeated one soldier, raising his hand. "We just won a war, it means everything is working!"

Morshower rubbed what was left of his hair, shrugging his broad shoulders. "The casualties in Chicago are...greater than any mass casualty we've dealt with since the arrival of the Autobots. And it's a number that the President is not happy with, and not willing to see again during his Presidency. Or any, for that matter," he added. With a resigned sigh, he looked around the room. "Operations are to cease immediately and any property we have is to be turned over to the C.I.A."

A tall woman with skin the color of dark maple syrup spoke now, her eyes defiant. "What about the Autobots?"

"That is the C.I.A.'s business now, Leven," answered Morshower, shrugging his shoulders. "Tomorrow morning, they'll assist in shutting down of our operations and preparing to move all NEST equipment. Every member will receive an information packet detailing the debriefing process and how to proceed after dissolution. From this point on you are to cease contact with the Autobots. As of now, NEST no longer exists."

* * *

Rhiannon Leven sat on her couch in her apartment that evening, her fingers resting on top of a blue manila folder in her lap. She cupped a mug of tea in one hand, taking slow, careful sips, her eyes focused on the television in front of her.

"…With such massive damage the likes no one has ever seen…"

"…Mayor estimates billions of dollars will be needed to repair the damage caused today between the Autobots and Decepticons alone…"

She took a deep breath and flipped the channel again, only to be met with another breaking news segment about the Battle of Chicago that ended only hours ago.

"Behind me, you can see U.S. Navel ships transporting the last of the Decepticon remains out into the ocean," said one female newscaster, motioning to the open sea behind her.

Rhiannon chuckled weakly, taking another sip of her tea. "Not the last of the them," she muttered to herself. As she took another sip her phone began to buzz, and she glanced reluctantly at the caller ID. _Sister. Here we go._

With a sigh, she answered it. "Hello."

"Ree, are you alright?" came her sister's worried voice. "Chicago is all over the news."

Aimee Leven was Rhiannon's older sister, with a constant tendency to worry about anything and everything. And when it came to Rhiannon, she worried more than anyone. Sometimes even a little more than her husband and two children.

When Rhiannon announced that she'd decided to join the U.S. Army as a Cryptologic Linguist, Aimee was one of many who protested the decision, citing safety reasons. But as a Linguist, Rhiannon's primary line of work included computers.

"I'm fine, Aimee," Rhiannon answered, running a hand through her dark, still-damp curls from her shower. "You know I don't even do anything in the field. I'm a linguist. I sit at a computer all day."

"True, but I would really appreciate it if you gave me a call as soon as possible rather than making me wait until you answered your phone to let me know you're alive."

"Duly noted," Rhiannon answered sarcastically, changing the channel. "Well, I'm alive. And I'm also out of a job. As of 10:45 p.m., NEST has officially been dissolved by the President." Rhiannon lowered her eyes to look at the manila folder that told her exactly how she was going to forget the past three years of her life.

"I'm only 25," Rhiannon said quietly, watching as more images of the extensive damage appeared on the screen. "I can teach at a university. It shouldn't be too hard."

That is, if she got lucky.

Rhiannon had been in the U.S. Army for a while before the Battle of Mission City that introduced the Autobots and Decepticons to the human world. Following the agreement struck between humans and the Autobots, Rhiannon and thousands more were pulled from different divisions within the U.S. Military and joined NEST. As a Cryptologic Linguist, it was her job to identify foreign communications using signals equipment. She picked up on incoming Decepticon transmissions, providing translation expertise, and transcripts for military activity.

She loved it. And working for NEST was even more exciting. In the past year, since the events in Egypt, she'd dedicated herself to learning the ancient language of the Autobots for transmissions purposes.

And by noon tomorrow, all of her work was going to disappear and enter the hands of the C.I.A. And of course, she had no idea why, and probably would never know.

Later that evening, Rhiannon was lying in her bed, finally reading through the documents she'd been given. The folder General Moreshower gave to Rhiannon contained information about the dissolution and proper procedure on being debriefed. Tomorrow morning, the C.I.A. would arrive and take any NEST property into containment, including weapons and research. She was to turn over her ID badge, gun, sign forms swearing that she wouldn't divulge any government secrets or risk persecution.

_They are literally removing this organization from existence._

Her phone buzzed around 2 a.m., and with a grunt, Rhiannon rolled over and picked up her phone from the nightstand to see that she'd received a text.

_Make sure to bring memory cards with you tomorrow, _it read. _There are tons of pictures and video on those computers that I need to save._

Rhiannon smiled; Damien, a Master Sergeant from the Air Force, was a frequent visitor to the Cryptology division of NEST when he had time. Generally very light-hearted with a tendency to crack jokes, it only seemed likely that he would want a video of the prank he pulled on Epps a few months ago. She wrote a reminder on a notepad she kept on the nightstand to dig up a memory card or two before leaving out.

Besides, she still had a few things she wanted to keep herself.


End file.
